The Open University: Promoting Quality

EducationInternational Meeting on the University Community and Education for All

“Creating and Sustaining Improvements”

UNESCOParis, November 4th, 2004

Plan of the Talk1 Overview of the UK Open University: 2004

2 The Challenge of the Dakar Agreement for Africa

3 The DEEP project: combining - teacher training expertise- use of Information and Communications

Technologies (ICT)in two African countries

Overview of the UK Open University

The UKOU – a “mega-university”

250,000 students and clients

160,000 students working online in their studies

Largest Business School in Europe

Fifth in UK Teaching Quality ratings

28,000 students outside UK

Partnerships in 16 countries

Study with the UKOU

Open entry – no entry qualifications are required for undergraduate study

Study for BA, BSc, MA, MSc, PhD, or study individual courses of interest

Course sizes: 100 hours to 600 hours of study

All registered undergraduate students have access to a tutor

Full range of media used in creation of course materials and services

Present eLearning Capacity

Email, computer-conferencing (student-tutor, student-student)Digital resources from OU Library onlineWebsites (personal, course-based)eBooks, simulations, A/V materialsSpecialist learning systems: computer-enhanced audio conferencing (Lyceum)Computer-based assessment; online assignment handling

Academic Organisation

6 Faculties ( Arts, Social Sciences, Maths & Computing, science Technology, Education and Language Studies)2 Schools (Health & Social Welfare, OU Business School)Institute of Educational TechnologyKnowledge Media Institute1200 full-time academic staffResearch and teaching across the OU

Quality Assurance at the UKOU

Internal quality assurance: four dimensions- academic quality - pedagogic quality- media product quality - quality of serviceExternal quality assurance- Institutional audit: QAA- Accreditation: Middlestates Accreditation - Professional Body accreditation (AACSB,

EQUIS, nursing, social work)

UKOU Mission

The Open University is open to people, places method and ideas

It promotes educational opportunity and social justice by providing high-quality university education to all who wish to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential

Education for All

A contribution from the UK Open University that draws upon:

- the UKOU’s excellence in teacher-education

- our experience in using ICT to enhance teaching and learning

“The challenge to educate our children is a challenge for us all”

Dakar agreement: universal primary education by 2015

Sub-Saharan Africa 42 million children without primary schooling

Number of primary age children in the region: 1996: 82,000,0002015: 139,000,000.

Required growth in number of teachers: 5.6% pa.

Actual growth in number of teachers:3.4% pa.

“Educating all our children means educating their teachers too”

Dakar agreement : Universal Primary Education by 2015

“What struck me so forcefully was how small the planet had become during my decades in prison..[ICT] had shrunk the world and had in the process become great weapon for eradicating poverty and promoting democracy.”

Nelson Mandela: “Long Walk to Freedom”

Researching the potential of new technologies to enhance teaching and learning in literacy, numeracy and science in elementary schools in Egypt and South Africa.

DEEP- The Digital Education Enhancement Project

1 Teacher education essential to

achieving meaningful primary education.

2 School based programmes of teacher education the only feasible, logistical way of responding to enormous numbers involved.

3 Potential of ICT needs vigorously exploiting.

4 Established assumptions about teacher education need challenging.

5 Balance of pre-service and in-service training needs radical reassessment.

Five interrelated arguments:

1 What is the impact of ICT-enhanced teaching on student achievement and motivation?

2 What is the impact of ICT use on the pedagogic knowledge and practice of teachers and the communities in which they live and work?

3 How can teacher education and training be developed to ensure teacher capacity to exploit the potential for ICT?

DEEP Research Questions

Department For International Development, UKFort Hare Institute of Government, SAProgramme Planning & Monitoring Unit, EgyptOpen University, UK

DEEP- The Digital Education Enhancement Project

DEEP participantsEgypt: 12 project schools

25 teachers

Eastern Cape: 12 project schools

25 teachers

Total number of students involved: 2000

DEEP: ICT ToolkitShared laptop with CD-ROM, internet access microphone and speakers

Combined printer/scanner/photocopier

Individual hand-held computer with digital camera and docking station

Email account

Project-based digital video camera

Personal mobile phone

Teachers take ‘10 steps’ through the DEEP project.The steps have ‘Educator Activities’ that teachers work through in pairs.The steps have ‘Classroom tasks’ for educators to adapt and try out with learners.The focus is always upon the ‘subject’ - ICT is integrated as ‘one of a range of strategies’.

Educator Activities & Classroom Tasks.

DEEP: the 10 steps1 Understanding the purposes of DEEP

2 Explaining the research instruments

3 Introduction to the professional activities

4 Introducing ICT

5 Planning to teach with ICT

DEEP: the 10 steps

6 Teaching and Learning with ICT

7 Learning review and presentation

8 Teacher evaluation

9 Learner evaluation

10 Affirmation

1 What is the impact of ICT-enhanced teaching on student achievement and motivation?

2 What is the impact of ICT use on the pedagogic knowledge and practice of teachers and the communities in which they live and work?

3 How can teacher education and training be developed to ensure teacher capacity to exploit the potential for ICT?

DEEP Research Questions

DEEP: the Key Findings (1)

1 Teachers gained confidence in using ICT

2 ICT use enhanced teachers’ professional knowledge and capability by extending subject knowledge

3 ICT enabled efficient planning and preparation

4 ICT use extended the range of teachers’ pedagogic practices

DEEP: the Key Findings (2)

5 ICT permitted new forms of teacher-to-teacher co-operation

6 No correlation with prior experience of ICT

7 Successful outcomes were achieved by both men and women

8 ICT use extended from school to community

9 Students developed confidence in ICT use

DEEP: the key findings (3)

10 Teachers reported enhanced learning , literacy and scientific literacy

11 Teachers reported frequent use of hand-held, in class and out of school

12 Need for mother-tongue interfaces and software

13 Teachers highly motivated to succeed in use of ICT for their learning and for students’ learning

14 Cost analyses for ICT use need reappraisal

Building teacher identity,dignity and self esteem

“No-one can ever believe that rural school educators and learners can use computer technology the way that we do. We are so confident - and we are proud of ourselves.”

Mandla Mngqibisa, DEEP Participant

THE DEEP PROJECT

For further information on DEEP:fels-deep@open.ac.uk

For the full report on DEEP: http://www.open.ac.uk/deep/FinalReport-screen.pdf

© images: Digital Education Enhancement Project